The Hunter Manufacturing Awards (HMA) shined the spotlight squarely on the region’s global opportunities when it officially launched its 2023 campaign on Wednesday, 24 May, at MITS Alloy in Newcastle’s Mayfield North.
The event, which serves as the official launch of the 2023 award application period, offers attendees an opportunity to network with other supporters of the Hunter manufacturing community.
Given that this year’s HMA theme is “made in the Hunter, for the world,” HMA said the North American location was deemed appropriate.
In particular, the region is MITS Alloy’s largest market, and it was named HMA’s 2022 Manufacturer of the Year (for companies with 50 or more employees).
HMA is the official representative of all manufacturing-related companies in the Upper Hunter, Lower Hunter, Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Port Stephens, and Mid-North Coast districts.
This includes allies as well. The awards promote, reward, and motivate thriving and long-lasting production in various areas.
Jacqui Daley, chair of the HMA, thinks it’s critical to acknowledge the expansion of manufacturing in the Hunter and to honour the ideas and dedication.
“Hunter companies are transforming traditional manufacturing processes by upskilling staff, implementing lean manufacturing and applying new technologies and automation to improve processes, eliminate waste and increase efficiency and productivity to unprecedented heights,” she said.
Additionally, the HMA chair stated that many Hunter companies are currently raising the standards of design for technologically advanced, ground-breaking, dependable, cost-effective, and readily accessible products, which are better, more sustainable, and address a number of societal challenges.
To date, MITS Alloy has 14 resellers, a North American master distributor, and is rapidly expanding its global network.
According to HMA, major North American industry players acknowledged that MITS Alloy is the global market leader and primary innovator in the overlanding business at an expo in Oregon last year.
“MITS Alloy is a worthy venue to launch the 2023 awards,” Daley said, “but another winner from last year, Sirron Holdings, turned its Caves Beach commercial dishwasher factory into a disinfectant and sanitiser manufacturer when the Covid pandemic hit in 2020. It now releases 230 products.”
Last year, Sirron Holdings “cleaned up” in a number of categories, which the judges observed showed “a resilient and flexible approach to compete and succeed on the world stage.”
Daley said manufacturing employs more than 20,000 people in the Hunter and is a major driver of the local economy.
“There are about 600 large and small-to-medium manufacturing, engineering, and technology companies in the region and the industry contributes about $3 billion in value add to the Hunter economy and 6.6 per cent of its GDP,” she said.
According to HMA, manufacturers from the Upper Hunter, Lower Hunter, Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Port Stephens, and Mid-North Coast are experiencing a renaissance as a result of increased global demand for goods and a renewed government focus on expanding innovative manufacturing capability across the nation.
Thus, all manufacturers in these regions are urged by HMA to submit entries for the 2023 awards. Applications are accepted in 14 categories, including Collaboration, Building Workforce Capability, Excellence in Innovation, and Sustainable Operations.
The deadline for nominations and registration is 18 August.
Entry is free, and manufacturers can find all the information they need at www.hma.org.au/faqs
